Interviewed by The printthe former defender and now sports commentator Alessandro Costacurta spoke about the Champions League final scheduled for this evening in Borussia Dortmund And real Madrid.
Costacurta, is Borussia’s task impossible?
“The favorite doesn’t always win, but Real has many players who can solve a match like this. Then I have to admit that I’ve been underestimating the German team all season. Every time they show off their pride and overturn the prediction. They did it with Atletico Madrid, then with PSG. But it’s clear that it will be very difficult to do like Atalanta.”
What was Borussia’s strength?
“He has an exceptional balance between the offensive and defensive phases. Hummels surprised me. I would never have thought that at the age of 35 he would be able to win the title of man of the match three times in a row in such important matches. And Sancho was exceptional in semi-final with PSG”.
Could the Germans change Real’s usual script, which up until now has been used to taking advantage of teams that have played openly?
“It could be a variable, but Real have many different ways of tackling their opponents. They can go into the open field but also open closed defenses. They have many strings to their bow. And it’s difficult for them to be surprised in defense: the central defenders Rudiger and Nacho they went beyond expectations.”
And then they have Ancelotti on the bench.
“The best thing of the season was the inclusion of Bellingham in Real Madrid. He is a great player, but no one could have imagined the level of the first six months. Ballon d’Or worthy. Carlo knows how to make these champions because he has them had many: Zidane, Seedorf, Rui Costa, Kakà. He asks us to have courage and thus exalts this type of player.”
Do the Italian teams have any regrets?
“Inter, for the first leg against Atletico at San Siro. In that match the Nerazzurri could have scored a few more goals in order to avoid the risk of a comeback in the second leg.”